The threat

“We are seeing a steady increase in the number of malicious applications for Android devices that are able to bypass security checks on popular app stores and make their way onto consumers’ phones.”

Last autumn, Avast identified new malicious software called “BankBot.”

Once a smartphone user is tricked into downloading the malware, it exploits the apps of large banks. So, if a smartphone user opens such a banking app, BankBot “would create a fake overlay on top of the genuine app with the goal of collecting the customer’s banking details and sending them on to the attacker,” Avast says.

BancaMarStealer lures victims into unknowingly entering their credentials by displaying legitimate-looking overlays that are carefully designed to imitate the login portal of a victim’s bank or other targeted service.

BancaMarStealer has been around for several years but is strengthening and spreading.